1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present inventive concept relate to an antifuse circuit, and more particularly, to an antifuse circuit having a protection circuit.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Faulty semiconductor devices are generally repaired using a conventional fuse at a wafer level. Thus, when a failure of the semiconductor device is detected after completion of a packaging process, a repair operation cannot be carried out. Accordingly, an antifuse has been introduced so that a repair operation can be performed even after the packaging process has completed.
In general, an antifuse device may have opposite electrical properties to those of a fuse device. For example, where a fuse device will sever an electrical connection upon the receiving of a sufficient current, the antifuse device will establish an electrical connection upon the receiving of a sufficient current. The state in which the antifuse device does not permit the flow of electricity is known as the “unprogrammed” state while the state in which the antifuse device permits the flow of electricity is known as the “programmed” state. An antifuse may be a resistive fuse device, which has a high resistance of, for example, about 100 MΩ, in an unprogrammed state and has a low resistance of, for example, about 100 KΩ or lower, in a programmed state. The antifuse may typically include conductive materials and a dielectric material interposed therebetween. The antifuse may be programmed by applying a program voltage, for example, a high voltage of about 5V, to the conductive materials corresponding to both terminals of the antifuse for a sufficient time to destruct the dielectric material interposed between the conductive materials. As a result, when the antifuse is programmed, an electrical short may occur between the conductive materials corresponding to both terminals of the antifuse, thereby reducing the resistance of the antifuse.